Rear-view mirror



Jan. 26 1926.

E. A. LANGLEY REAR vmw uniaon Filed Dec. 5, 1923 I Ear/e A. Langl y 5 35., Max.

mama Jan. as, 1920.

j UNITED STATES PATENT orr ce.

new A. LANGLEY, OI DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB '10 SEES-ALL MPG. 00., 01 mm, WASHINGTON, A COBPQRATION OF WASHINGTON.

nan-view kumoa.

. Application ma December a, 1923. Serial no. erases.

' To all it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARLE A. LANGLEY, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of the city of Detroit,'in the county of Wayne and State of Michi an, have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Rear-View Mirrors, of which the followin is a specification.

M inventlon relates to rearview mirrors, partlcularly to such mirrors as are shown in the patent to Rees, No. 1,426,010, whlch includes two ri 'dly connected and angularlydisposed re ectors arranged to be suported upon the windshield of an automoile for the purpose of enabling both the driver and the objects behind t e car through a window in the rear of the car.

Occasionall the height of the eyles of the driver wil not be the same as the eight of the eyes of his'passenger, and consequently it will not be possible for such a mirror to be so adjusted as to permit the driver to see objects 1n the rear of the car and for the passenger to see them at the same time. If the mirror is adjusted at the pro er height so that the angle of reflection to t e drivers eye is right for his vision through the rear window, the angle of sight to the passengers eye may be greater, and thus will drop lower, and will on] permit reflection of the car top, and wi not permit the passenger a view through the rear window. It is my present object, particularly, to provide means whereby two such mirrors which are.

permanently angularly disposed, transversecan be independently adjusted about a transversely extending or lateral pivot axis forming a chord of the angle between the mirrors, to the end that the angle of each, relative to this horizontal pivot axis, may be made right to permit vision b both the driver and the passenger throug the rear window, notwithstandin a difference in the height of the eyes of t e driver and passenger.

It is also my ob'ect to make such simple changes as will a apt the Rees mirror to independent adjustment of the two reflectors for the purpose mentioned above, while retaining all of its advantages, including the permanent angular relation between the two reflectors.

My invention comprises those novel parts and combinations thereof as are shown in passenger beside him to see the accompanying drawings, described in the specification, and particularly defined by the clalms terminating the same.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown m invention in the form which is now pre erred by me.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my mirror mounted upon the windshield of an automobile.

Figure 2 is a view of the reverse side of my improved mirror, that is, the side which is towards the front of the car.

F gure 3 is a top plan view of the mirror.

Figure 4 is a section along the median plane between the angle formed by the two reflectors, the adjacent end of the omitted reflector being indicated in dot-and-dash lines.

Essentially the rear view mirror consists of two similar reflecting surfaces designated, for convenience, 1 and 10, which are suitably connected and sup orted, as from the frame bar 20 of the win shield 2. Ordinarily the mirror is supported by brackets 3 which are suitably clamped upon the frame 20 to which the mirrors are pivotally connected.

The reflectors 1 and 10 I have shown as encased, except on the reflecting surface, in a sheet meta casing 11. From the casing 11, pivot ears 12 are upraised, these ivot ears being connected to the lower en s of the brackets 3 by means of horizontal trans-.

verse pivot pins 4. Any other suitable connection mi t be employed, and in fact, a single brac et might be employed to support both reflectors. In the form illustrated, where two brackets and two pivot pins are employed, the pivot pins should be coaxial.

The two reflectors 1 and 10 have adjacent ends and extend laterally from these adjacent ends at an angle. As in the Rees patent, I refer that theyshould extend latorally and mined and fixed angle. By this means the driver, whose eye E is represented in Figure 4, visualizes an ob'ect in the rear of the car along "the line of sight S through the window which is in the rear of every car. The passenger, whose eye is represented at E in Figure 4, by lookin in the reflector 10 along the line of sight 5, will visualize objects through the same window.

According to my invention the two reflectors 1 and 10 are fixedly positioned only as to the relative angular positions of the forwardly at a definitely determajor axes of their planes, and are adjustable, either separately or jointly, about a.

pivot axis which forms a chord of the angle the eye E relative to the eye E.

I prefer that the two mirrors be connected in such manner as to maintain-their outer ends spaced by the same amount, that is, to

maintain a constant relative longitudinal angle, and yet in such way as to permit the angular adjustment about the transverse pivot axis, as indicated above. A numberotiways may be devised to permit this, and I do not wish to be limited only to-the one shown and described herein. According to the arrangement shown in the drawings, I provide positioning brackets 5 upon each reflector and preferably at the end which is adjacent the other reflector. These project from the same side of the reflector, or rather from the casing 11 which carries the pivot ears 12. A common pivot pin 51 is passed through apertures provided therefor in the positioning brackets 5. If desired, a spacing washer 52 may be positioned between the brackets 5. Theoretically the common pivot pin 51 should be coaxial with the two pivot pins 4 which connect the individual reflectors to the brackets 3, although practically the spring of the parts will permit some variation from such exact position.

With the individual mirrors so mounted and connected together it is possible to turn either'of the reflectors 1 or 10, about the axis ence is afl'ected thereby, and for each mirror independently of the other.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A rear-view mirror for automobiles comprising two mirrors, separate supporting frames for each mirror, each frame havingat one end a connecting ear and supporting pivot ears located approximately at the middle of the length of the frame, the two connecting ears and each of the supporting ears having its individual clamping pivot member, all of said pivot members being located upon a common axis, whereby separate elevational angular adjustment may be given to the individual mirrors without disturbing their longitudinal angular relation with each other.

2. In combination with a pair of reflectors, pivot ears upon each reflector, a fixed supporting bracket for each reflector, a trans versely' extending pivot pin connecting each bracket with its corresponding pivot ears, said pivot pins being coaxial, a positioning bracket upon each reflector, and a common pivot pin connecting said positionin brackets, and disposed coaxially with sai first pivot pins.

Signed at Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, this th day of November, 1923.

EARLE A. LANGLEY. 

